First Day 2013
Published January 2, 2013 | 
Well, it’s Wednesday. The holidays are over and it’s time to get back to work. Great! I need a rest! We closed out the holidays by spending the last day of the year snowshoeing then we got up on New Year’s day to paddle at the annual Fog Bowl. We got about an hour to rest. (I spent that hour running to my grandmother’s to fill her birdfeeder!) Then it was off to Devil’s Lake State Park for the evening’s First Day Twilight Snowshoe. Continue reading
Stay Up Till When?
Published January 1, 2013 | 
Certain fads, stripes and plaids, singles ads
They run you hot and cold like a rheostat, I mean a thermostat
So you bite on a towel / Hope it won’t hurt too bad
- andrew bird
So here’s the thing about New Years… Staying up until midnight eventually turns into a big drag. Not always, of course. Sometimes there’s a party to go to, or maybe you’ll enjoy a quiet celebration at home with your family.. but drinking yourself stupid or watching the plasticine, humanesque caricatures display their mental deficiencies on television just gets old. Oh, and it’s totally not cool to spend the first day of a new year inside, being sick. Continue reading
Winter. Tryin’ To Feel It…
Published December 29, 2012 | 
Running in circles / A mouse on the table
I try to feel, I just don’t / Hurtin’ and dead inside
Go on and cut ‘em in half / Said I
- BROKEN BELLS
I get it. If you live in the northern climates, you are supposed to say things like, “I love winter” and “It’s fine if you dress for it!”. Deep down inside though, we know we’d much rather be enjoying a mid-July day out on the trails. Loving winter more than summer is one of those ”If you say it enough, you’ll start to believe it.”, “power of positive thinking” things. Yeah, I enjoy snowshoeing around looking for animal tracks and taking in the holiday postcard scenery… I’ll have fun jumping into my kayak on the first day of the new year when forecasters are calling for a high temperature of 7 f. I may put on a brave face and be all “balls-to-the-wall” about the cold, but inside… I’m pining for summer….
Tell Somebody
Published December 27, 2012 | 
Just let your love flow like a mountain stream
And let your love grow with the smallest of dreams
And let your love show and you’ll know what I mean
it’s the season
– Bellamy Brothers
The annual Fog Bowl is coming up this January 1st, 2013.. OR maybe it isn’t. It’s hard to tell. If you were to go back about 6 or 7 years you’d see an occasional news report, you’d find details on a variety of websites including at the Mad City Paddler’s website. Mad City, seemed to be the defacto organizers of the event. This year it would take the great Sherlock Holmes himself to divine out whether the event is actually going on or not. Well, I’m going paddling on Lake Columbia to celebrate the new year anyway…. Continue reading
Hot December Sun
Published December 26, 2012 | 
The best way to fight off the winter blues, as we are told, is to get outside. In Wisconsin, fighting through the occasional heavy snow, the biting cold and short days and long nights can be quite a chore. While fighting through the winter malaise to get out there can be quite a challenge, it’s usually worth the effort. I can tell you from experience, that you’ll find yourself returning in a much better mood than the one you left with. You just need to get out there in the first place! Continue reading
Posted in My Paddling, My Weird Life, Outdoor Recreation, Paddling, Quixotica, Winter Sports | 
1 CommentPrice of Admission…
Published December 11, 2012 | 
Riders on the storm
Into this house we’re born
Into this world we’re thrown
-doors
Outdoor types come with a steep price tag. Keep that in mind if you set you eyes upon a nature addict, and most especially kayakers! We’re going to be out there in the wilds as much as physically possible. We’re not going to be stopped by mud, rain, snow or a wide expanse of water hovering just above freezing. After all, we know how to dress! Continue reading
Posted in My Paddling, My Weird Life, Nature & Wildlife, Outdoor Recreation, Paddling, Winter Sports | 
Mirror Lake State Park, Sue, winter | 1 Comment
Can’t believe it’s that time again! Here in central Wisconsin Canoecopia is right around the corner. March 8th through the 10th. It’s time once again to see all the gear and hear about all the great adventures folks have had in the great outdoors. It’s also a great time to mention that some of the best adventures happen right outside your front door. Adventure is just a state of mind. Continue reading →